Howell approves aerial spraying for mosquitoes
BY TOYNETT HALL
Staff Writer

HOWELL - Residents may be reaching for their bug spray a little less often this year. Municipal officials have authorized the Monmouth County Mosquito Extermination Commission to apply pesticides by aircraft over portions of Howell that have a high mosquito population.

Approval for the aerial spraying initiative was requested by the mosquito extermination commission.

Vicki Thompson, assistant superintendent of the mosquito extermination commission, said, "We basically send out requests to all of the municipalities to get permission to fly over their area for an aerial application of pesticides."

The authorization granted by a municipality "allows us to do this if there was a public health emergency," Thompson said.

According to the Web site www.visitmonmouth.com/mosquitoes, what would constitute a public health emergency are three mosquito-borne viruses medically important in New Jersey.

Those viruses are eastern equine encephalitis, which is a virus transmitted among birds; St. Louis encephalitis, which also circulates between wild birds and mosquitoes; and West Nile encephalitis, which also appears in the mosquito-bird cycle and primarily affects elderly people.

According to Thompson, there is "nothing imminent" in terms of spraying. The commission followed guidelines set by the Federal Aviation Administration, giving local governing bodies a heads-up about aerial applications of pesticides.

"At this time there is nothing planned, and any further action will be posted on the Web site," Thompson said.

The resolution passed by the Howell council states that all pesticides to be used "are registered with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for aerial application by the state and also the United States Environmental Protec-tion Agency ... The Monmouth County Mosquito Extermination Commission shall notify the Howell Police Department prior to each and every application."

In the meantime, residents can control mosquito breeding habitats around their home by following strategies listed on the commission's Web site. These strategies include eliminating all standing water, avoiding over-watering lawns, disposing of useless containers, turning saved containers upside down, and making certain that recycling containers have holes drilled into their bottom.